Okay, so my parents' visit was tons of fun and I'm super duper glad they got a chance to come down! On a side note, they brought me a guitar and I love it. It's a little baby. I planned on going to play outside the metro station one day. I was going to today, but I slept til 11:30 then watched Kate & Leopold on TV. Lame, I know.
Anyway, here's us at Isla Negra, one of Pablo Neruda's favorite houses. The sun made us squint though, so we look a little wonky, but I still like it.
I want to live there.
We ended up staying in the SUITE at the Cap Ducal (it's shaped liked a boat), due to faulty windows in our first room. I'm actually pointing to the wrong room here... our room was the one in the top right-hand corner, but whatevs, you get the picture. If you look real closely, you can see one of the chairs on the deck.
This is at Mercado Central, a famous fish market. We didn't eat there, but I went back a week later and ate with some friends. And I actually ate fish! It kind of tasted like nothing though, so that's no fun. But my friend Sarah got swordfish and that tasted really good. Sooo, if any of you get a chance to go to South America, and a chance to go to Santiago, and a chance to eat at Mercado Central, I recommend the swordfish.
The day after my parents left, my program took a field trip to a winery called Concha y Toro. Apparently it's famous. I mean, it was really pretty and everything, but it wasn't like the freaking Garden of Eden or anything. Sheep were walking around though, so that was exciting. All in all, it was actually kind of boring. BUT, we did get to sample their "finest" wines. One wine, Casillero del Diablo, was pretty root-tootin' special back in 1891 so the owner put it waaaaay back in the corner of his cellar. However, barrels of wine kept disappearing so he figured the devil must have been stealing it. Thus, Casillero del Diablo, or Devil's Cellar.
Mind you, this hallway was gated off. Special, special. We just stood there, looking down this hallway, waiting for something to happen. Like the devil popping out from behind a wall or something. I don't mean to be a party pooper, but it was pretty underwhelming.
The last couple weeks have been a blur... tons of homework. But you know what my dad says: "work hard, play hard" ....
I know you love my stories from my bus rides, so I'll tell you another exciting story. This man, oh this very special man that I want to tell you about takes his job very seriously. He even has a uniform. Or maybe it's been a coincidence that I've seen him "on the job" in the same outfit twice. Jeans, red t-shirt, and blue baseball hat. That's how you dress for success, I say! He kind of talks like an auctioneer too. Like, he'll start out by saying something like, "Good day, ladies and gentlemen, good day! Good day!" but like super fast. Yeah, anyway, he'll pull a blue pen out of his back pocket and wave it in the air so we can all see. He talks about how great it is, and that we can but it for just 500 pesos! 75 cents!! (By the way, 500 pesos was worth a dollar when I first got here. Yay for the world economic crisis??) Moving on, he pulls out a black pen and then a red pen - we can get all 3 pens for just 500 pesos! What's that? He'll throw in a second black pen at no additional cost! But wait, just wait. He pulls out a big black permanent marker. Major selling points: "It writes on wood, it writes on plastic, it writes on paper!" All four pens and the marker for just 500 pesos! Still unsure? Ok... he'll throw in a mechanical pencil too! As he's talking about how great it is, he's clicking the eraser part to make all the lead come out, like "Look see! It's real!" Today being the second time I've seen the speil, I really had to hold back the laughter. I mean, he was clicking the teeny pencil eraser with such fervor. I guess he should be commended. Anyway, ok, final offer: this guy will throw in mechanical pencil refills in the mix. That's right, four pens, one marker, one pencil, and pencil lead for 500 pesos. The thing, if you think about it, that's actually a good deal. They looked like pretty nice pens. For a split second I thought about buying them, but then my the voice of my conscience (or my mom) started talking: "Jen, do you really need these? Are you sure you don't have any other pens at home?" Yeah, yeah, okay.
On a different note, I'd like you all to meet my Chilean family!!!
Here's Patty, Montse, Luis, and Benja. Benja loves smiling for pictures. They are now the happy owners of tons of Coca-Cola and UofM gear. Yay!
Ok, here's some smiles!
Look! "Michigan Mom" ... how cute! Aww, I love this lady.
Okay, what else? Hmm. Well I had a paper due Monday. I pretty big one. It was supposed to be between 4-8 pages, but I didn't start it until Sunday. Whoopsies. I finished it Monday morning and it was barely 4 pages, but *shrug*, I felt I still deserved a little celebration, so I went to Starbucks!! First frappuccino in months, and it was absolutely heavenly.
Yesterday I told Patty that I wanted to start eating a little healthier, not that I don't love my sugared wheaties and freaking loaves of bread that I eat daily. But ya know, carbs and sugar only get you so far. So today for lunch, she packed me a platter, yes, a platter, of vegetables. Corn, green beans, peas, carrots, broccoli, and cellary. And two hardboiled eggs. Patty does not kid around when it comes to eating healthy!
Annnnd, guess what!! I've officially booked my trip to Peru and Argentina!! Yahoo! I'm flying to Lima Novemeber 22, then somehow we're going to get to Cuzco (fly, bus it, hitchhike, apperate?) and from there we're going to go to Machu Picchu!! We're hoping to take the Incan Trail, which would take about 3-4 days. Then from there, we go back to Lima and fly to Buenos Aires on December 1 (happy birthday to meee!). We fly back to Santiago on the 10th and then I fly out the next day to come home! So, my last couple weeks will be totally crammed pack with life, but that's how I like it. As long as no poetry is involved, I'm as happy as a clam.
Mucho amor a todos! Besos y abrazos!!
P.S. I voted! Yay!!
